Welcome to my world and beyond...

A collection of snippets of the books I write and, occasionally, my life and the things that inspire my writing...

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Weekend Writing Warriors: May 31, 2015






  Hello, Writers! Good bye May, hello June! I hope we all get what we need weather-wise.  More rain or less rain...let the weather gods smile upon us all.
Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly bloghop. Each week, participants sign up HERE at wewriwa.com, then post 8 to 10 sentences of their work, published or unpublished, to go live between noon, Saturday, and 9:00 AM Sunday EST. Then we visit each other and read, comment, critique, encourage--all those things that do a solitary writer's heart good. 
                 Snippet Sunday group from facebook--not us, but many of our participants do both, can be found HERE 

This is Chapter 3 from my SFR WIP, Across The Night Sky  . The heir to the throne has been abducted, and his guards are traveling in space, watching the scanners while they try to find him. The final sentence last week was Abraxum's thought: He didn't have to tell them this was life or death, the most critical undertaking they'd ever done as a King's guard.
My excerpt:


Time seemed to move as slowly as the stars outside their windows. Finally, a flashing dot appeared on a scanner screen. “It’s a Science Culture signature,” Norstar said, “and moving away from us, fast. It'll take some time to catch.”

Abraxum leaned over the guard's shoulder and studied the display while he gave instructions. “Switch spectrums, and look for activity, for weapons arming, and don’t be afraid to push the engines.”

The crew once again grew quiet as they traveled. Dhurstan, co-piloting next to Norstar, finally broke the silence, his words tumbling out much faster than they would've if he'd actually been as calm as he appeared. “We have a new hit behind us. And they’re not even trying to hide.”

 That's it. What works. What doesn't? ) I'm grateful for every comment you leave. :-)

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Weekend Writing Warriors: May 24, 2015


               Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly bloghop. Each week, participants sign up HERE at wewriwa.com, then post 8 to 10 sentences of their work, published or unpublished, to go live between noon, Saturday, and 9:00 AM Sunday EST. Then we visit each other and read, comment, critique, encourage--all those things that do a solitary writer's heart good. 
                 Snippet Sunday group from facebook--not us, but many of our participants do both, can be found HERE 
This is Chapter 3 from my SFR WIP, Across The Night Sky  . The heir to the throne has been abducted, and his guards are trying to find him. The final sentence last week was a thought by the elder guard, Abraxum: Please dear Giver, make us fast enough to reach him in time."  
My excerpt...

 Six reference points were highlighted in a three-dimensional display panel. Abraxum's eyes fixed on the flashing dot in the center, their established location. It was the source of their scan sweep, searching for a twin dot to appear. But nothing else came to life on the scanner. The situation was growing more worrisome by the minute. 
He looked at the men, then back at the scanner displays. His young guards were proceeding with a good measure of discipline. They'd reverted to their training, yet he'd still seen fear in every eye. He didn't have to tell them this was life or death, the most critical undertaking they'd ever done as a King's guard.
That's it. What works. What doesn't? ) I'm grateful for every comment you leave. :-)

If you're in the USA, no matter how you feel about war, I hope you'll take a few minutes to think about the men and women who gave all in the line of duty...

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Eleri Stone: Tueday Two Cents' Worth

Today we welcome Author Eleri Stone to the Two Cents stage. She's answering the burning question: If  you could share one piece of  writing advice with other writers, what would it be? Take it away. Eleri!



My two cents…

One thing I wish I’d done a lot sooner in my writing career is to seek out other writers. I didn’t feel that my lack of connection to a writing community was such an awful thing when I was writing for my own pleasure, though surely even then it would have been helpful. But once I decided that I wanted to publish, knowing other writers really would have come in handy. Instead, I started submitting stories, no beta readers or kindly mentors or any idea of what I was doing. And really I have no excuse for that. There are so many wonderfully supportive writing groups out there that if I’d only looked around a little bit, I wouldn’t have gone into the whole publishing thing so unprepared.
If you’re a romance writer like me, the RWA (Romance Writers of America) is an incredible resource, not only for established writers but also for people just starting out. There are a lot of great local groups who meet in person to discuss the industry, bring in guest speakers and have workshops.
There are also a ton of online groups where you can get to know other writers. If you’re a new-ish writer, Absolute Write is a good place to start. You can participate in Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) which takes place during the month of November. They have an active forum section and can put you in touch with local writers who often meet up during the month for write-ins. You can follow your favorite authors on social media to see how they manage the writing and business side of things. You can also participate in writer blog hops like Weekend Writing Warriors with Teresa and me. I’ve met a bunch of wonderful authors through that group and it’s a lot of fun, too. J
 Finding your tribe is such an important and satisfying thing. I really wish I’d started looking sooner. 

***

Eleri Stone is a RITA-nominated author of paranormal and fantasy romance. She was born in New Jersey, but now lives in Iowa with her husband and their three children. All of her stories have some element of speculative fiction in them and they all end with a happily-ever-after.


Monday, May 11, 2015

Ursula Hartlein: Tuesday Two Cents' Worth

Hello and welcome, dear readers. Today is Tuesday, and that means it's time for Tuesday Two Cents' Worth.

Welcome, Ursula Hartlein, historical fiction writer extraordinaire. And thank you for so generously taking the time to answer this question: If you could share one piece of writing advice with other writers, what would it be?



Thank you, Teresa, for inviting me to be on your blog!  One piece of advice I’d give to other writers would be to use your setting as more than just inconsequential window-dressing.  Weave it so deeply into the narrative it becomes like its own character.

One of the things which most strikes me about the earliest drafts of books I began when I was a lot younger is how the settings seem like little more than minor details.  I was guilty of the Gossip Girl in period clothes mistake I see too often now.  At least my excuse was that I was really young and didn’t know any better.  For some reason, my 18th and 19th century stories had much better worldbuilding, perhaps because I was more familiar with those eras.  It took a long time for me to get to that level with my 20th century historicals, and stop writing them as largely contemporary stories which just happened to be set in the past.

You should spend as much time as it takes getting familiar with the setting, so you know how to write it well.  Don’t just use a city, neighborhood, or era because you think it’s cool or required.  For example, not all stories set in England have to be set in London, not all stories about immigrants to the U.S. have to be set in the Lower East Side, and a story set during your childhood or teenage decade shouldn’t be a trip down memory lane to name-drop your favorite bands, TV shows, and fashions.

You also don’t want to overwhelm your story with so many details it feels more like a comprehensive history lesson or showing off your hometown or favorite city.  Pick the most important events, fashions, social movements, etc., of a given era, which make sense for your characters.  Even in a long book with an ensemble cast, what are the odds every single member of that family and circle of friends would be touched by all the events of the era?  It’s also overkill to have your characters constantly visiting all the city’s landmarks, name-dropping streets, and hanging out in trendy bistros and clubs.  Learning how much to season your book with is a delicate dance.  But you never want to give the impression this story could take place anywhere or at any time, and thus waste a great setting like Shanghai in the 1920s or Cairo in the 12th century.  This applies to sci-fi and fantasy too.  Even if it’s soft sci-fi or lighter fantasy, you still chose that setting for a reason.

Ursula Hartlein, who also writes as Carrie-Anne Brownian, is a proud native Pittsburgher, who’s lived most of her life in Upstate New York.  Her degree in history and Russian and East European Studies has been a great help in writing historical fiction, both intense and more light-hearted.  She dreams of one day earning a Ph.D. in 20th century Russian history, with a focus on GULAG and the Great Terror, and of having her own small farm on several acres of land.
As Ursula Hartlein, she’s the author of And Jakob Flew the Fiend Away, set from 1940–46 in The Netherlands, and You Cannot Kill a Swan: The Love Story of Lyuba and Ivan, a sweeping saga set from 1917–24.  As Carrie-Anne Brownian, she’s the author of Little Ragdoll, set from 1959–74 in New York, and has had work published in the anthologies Campaigner Challenges 2011, edited by Katharina Gerlach and Rachael Harrie; Overcoming Adversity:  An Anthology for Andrew, edited by Nick Wilford; How I Found the Right Path, edited by Carrie Butler and PK Hrezo; The Insecure Writer’s Support Group Guide to Publishing and Beyond; and The Cat Who Chose Us and Other Cat Stories.

http://onomasticsoutsidethebox.wordpress.com

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OVGJ7NU (You Cannot Kill a Swan: The Love Story of Lyuba and Ivan)

http://www.facebook.com/AndJakobFlewTheFiendAway














Sunday, May 10, 2015

Weekend Writing Warriors: May 10, 2015

Hello all. Happy Mothers Day!  <--- That applies to you whether your babies have two legs or four. :-) 

A quick reminder, we now officially allow up to ten sentences. Yay! The flip side of that is when a moderator checks your post--if you've gone over ten sentences, your link will be removed from the linky list-- without giving notice. So let's all stay ten and under. :-) Even one word sentences count if the punctuation brings it to a full stop.

On to fun things :-)

             Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly bloghop. Each week, participants sign up HERE at wewriwa.com, then post 8 sentences of their work, published or unpublished, to go live between noon, Saturday, and 9:00 AM Sunday EST. Then we visit each other and read, comment, critique, encourage--all those things that do a solitary writer's heart good. 
                 Snippet Sunday group from facebook--not us, but many of our participants do both, can be found HERE  





This is Chapter 3 from my SFR WIP, Across The Night Sky  . The chapter I've been pulling from ended last week. Moving on to the next chapter... No set up. I'm just going to see if you--the readers- follow what's going on. :-)
My Eight:


 

"On Tazulta, Kuylrh’s guard scrambled to the shuttle, secured all weapons, and ran pre-launch checks faster than they’d ever done them. Abraxum kept his voice calm while he issued order after order. No use letting these young men know just how alarmed he was. 
"This was the most terrifying moment of his life, and it could do nothing but get worse until he righted this. His young King had been taken, plucked away from before his eyes. For the first time in all his long years, panic threatened to engulf him. A silent prayer kept repeating over and over in his mind, a mantra staving off his growing dread: Please dear Giver, make us fast enough to reach him in time."
That's it. What works. What doesn't?  I'm grateful for every comment you leave. :-)